Scanning implemented software for time economy without rescanning (S.I.S.T.E.R.) identifying multiple documents with first scanning pass and generating multiple images with second scanning pass

ABSTRACT

Methods and devices are described for detecting boundaries of documents on flatbed and multi-function scanners on a first pass of a carriage assembly, and then performing a high resolution scan on a second pass. High resolution images of documents can then be obtained with little or no interaction normally necessary to identify areas of interest on the scanner bed. Patterns on the scanner cover or lid facilitate not only edge determination, but orientation of text and other objects, and straightening of images in preparation for OCR and related functions. Electronic images and files derived from paper documents may be automatically cropped, deskewed, subjected to OCR, and named consistent with content or other information derived from them.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/712,950, filed Dec. 12, 2012, which is a continuation in part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/662,044, filed Oct. 26, 2012. Thisapplication also claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC 119 toRussian Patent Application No. 2014137823, filed Sep. 18, 2014; thedisclosure of the priority applications are incorporated herein byreference.

The United States Patent Office (USPTO) has published a noticeeffectively stating that the USPTO's computer programs require thatpatent applicants reference both a serial number and indicate whether anapplication is a continuation or continuation-in-part. See Stephen G.Kunin, Benefit of Prior-Filed Application, USPTO Official Gazette Mar.18, 2003. The Applicant has provided above a specific reference to theapplication(s) from which priority is being claimed as recited bystatute. Applicant understands that the statute is unambiguous in itsspecific reference language and does not require either a serial numberor any characterization, such as “continuation” or“continuation-in-part,” for claiming priority to U.S. patentapplications. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Applicant understands thatthe USPTO's computer programs have certain data entry requirements, andhence Applicant is designating the present application as acontinuation-in-part of its parent applications as set forth above, butpoints out that the designations are not to be construed as commentaryor admission as to whether or not the present application contains anynew matter in addition to the matter of its parent application(s).

All subject matter of the Related Applications and of any and allparent, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc. applications of the RelatedApplications is incorporated herein by reference to the extent suchsubject matter is not inconsistent herewith.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field

The present invention relates to functions traditionally associated withconverting printed papers into electronic images for processing orstoring within a computer system. Flatbed scanners and multifunctionaldevices (MFP's) are frequently used for performing this task.Embodiments of the invention relate particularly to improving scanningspeeds and reducing the number of required scanning passes to processdocuments or other items.

2. Related Art

A document processed by optical character recognition (OCR) is initiallyand usually presented as an electronic image. A printed picture to bestored in a computer system is also initially and usually presented asan electronic image. Such pictures are usually obtained from a flatbedscanner or multi-function printer and scanner (MFP).

The flatbed scanner or MFP usually includes a carriage assembly thattransforms a luminous flux into an electronic image, a stepping motorassembly moving carriage, and a main electronic board that forms andprocesses the electronic image and possibly sends the electronic imageto the computer system through an interface cable, a local networkcable, or wireless across a network via one or more network protocols.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a conventional scanner 100 according to theknown art and exemplifies a typical scanning operation of a paperdocument 102. With reference to FIG. 1, a scanner 100 includes ascanning base 104 and glass plate or bed 106 on which is placed one ormore paper documents 102. A hinged cover or lid 108 is placed over thedocuments 102. The cover 108 includes a uniformly solid white or solidblack background 110 for the working area of the scanner. In operation,the lid 108 is closed.

When a user works with a flatbed scanner, the user first triggers apreview to see where the paper documents exist on the bed 106 of theapparatus 100. It is necessary to see how these papers or documents 102are located on the bed 106 and the user manually selects or indicatesone or more scanning areas. During a preview the scanner moves itscarriage (not shown) quickly, from front to back of the bed 106 or base104, from a starting position to an end position. At this point, duringthe preview, a lamp on the carriage is on. The apparatus performs thescanning and makes an electronic image of a substantially lowresolution. Next, the carriage returns back to its starting position. Onits way, in order to preserve lamp life and to reduce power consumption,the lamp on the carriage is turned off, and scanning is not performed. Apreview image is sent to an associated computer.

Next, the user views a result of the preview on a screen of the computerassociated with the scanner. The user selects one or more scanning areasand initiates a scan, typically with high resolution, to get anelectronic image of sufficient quality to perform OCR, to store it as anelectronic file, to print it, to send it by email, etc.

When the scanner 100 scans with high resolution, it moves its carriageagain from the front to the back of the bed 106, but now this timeslowly. The lamp is turned on and the scanner performs the scanning andmakes one or more electronic images with a relatively high resolution orresolution that is higher than the preview scan. Next, the carriagereturns back again to an initial position. In the case where a user hastwo or more papers for scanning on the scanner bed 106, the user isrequired to start scanning with a fresh or uninitiated scanning area—thescanner 100 has no way to detect where the next paper document is placedon the bed 106 or the dimensions or orientation of the paper document(s)freshly loaded onto the scanner bed 106. After another initial scan, theuser again must select one or more areas for a high resolution scanbefore he can capture electronic images.

Consequently, users are required to operate the scanner twice perdocument: a preliminary scan first and then a scan at high resolutionsecond. Also, users generally must have a computer connected orassociated with the scanner in order to control the scanner and thescanning process to acquire scanned images.

On the side of the associated computer, for a collection of images, auser is required to open each image successively with the assistance ofan image editing software program. The user must manually crop, deskew,remove digital noise, correct a gamma value, invent a name for the fileand initiate a save operation to persist the image as a computer file.Such scenario is repeated millions of times every day. Such scenario istedious and ripe for automation.

FIG. 5A shows a flowchart of a method 500A for scanning documents with aflatbed scanner in accordance with a known methodology. With referenceto FIG. 5A, a user places one or more documents on the bed of a scanner502. In FIG. 5A, the symbol of a bust 503 indicates that a usertypically performs this step manually. The user next presses or selectsa preview button 504. A scanner's carriage is activated and movesforward along the bed of the scanner; the scanner scans its bed andcaptures a (low-resolution) image 506. Next, a document area is definedautomatically or programmatically 508. The carriage returns (backward)to a start position 510. A low resolution image is transferred to anassociated computer 512. A preview image is displayed 514 on a displaythat is associated with the computer. An initial border or area isidentified for any documents in the image captured by the first scan.One or more areas for further scanning are manually selected 516. Suchselection is based upon the first image or preview image returned fromthe scanner. Next, a user selects a scan button 518 or correspondingsoftware element to initiate a final or non-preview scan.

In response, the scanner performs a (high resolution) scan of allselected areas 520. Images or files are sent to the associated computer522. The user usually opens the images in an image editor 524—at leastto confirm that images of sufficient quality were captured. The userserially works through the captured images such as by choosing a nextimage 526. Often, the user optionally and manually crops images capturedat the higher resolution 528, manually deskews the images 530, manuallyremoves noise from the images 532, and manually corrects the gamma valueassociated with the images 534. Next, a user must invent a filename foreach file 536, and save each file in an electronic store 538. The usertypically works through the images sequentially until each image issaved. When the image is the last one 540, the user closes the imageeditor 542 and further manually processes the saved images 544 such asby performing OCR on one or more of the images, sending the images viaan email client, printing the images, and sharing the images through asocial networking website.

If a user works with an MFP, he cannot perform a preview. In this case,the user selects a functional button on the MFP, for example a button ormenu selection corresponding to “Scan to folder” or “Scan and E-mail.”Also, the user usually must adjust or select one or more settings of theMFP. For example, the user must select a destination folder on the localnetwork or set an e-mail address, required settings associated with thepreviously mentioned functions.

Typically, when a functional button is pressed by a user, the MFP movesits carriage from the front to the back of the bed with a lamp on thecarriage turned on. The MFP apparatus scans its entire bed area andmakes one electronic image at high resolution. Next the carriage returnsback to its initial position. At this point, the lamp on the carriage isturned off, and scanning ceases.

In this scenario, the user does not have an opportunity to review aninitial scan, preview the results of the MFP scanning, or select an areadifferent from the entire bed of the MFP for scanning Instead, he mustgo to his computer to view the scanned image that has been saved oremailed by the MFP. Upon viewing this image, the user can thenoptionally crop, deskew, OCR or perform other operations on the image.However, if the scanning were of a book, and the scanning fails tocapture the appropriate usable portion of the paper document, the usermust again return to the MFP to again perform scanning

FIG. 5B shows a flowchart of a method 500B for scanning documents with amultifunctional device or multifunctional printer (MFP) in accordancewith a known methodology. With reference to FIG. 5B, a user places oneor more documents on the bed or feeder of the MFP 552. The user nextpresses or selects a function button 554. A scanner's carriage isactivated and the scanner (or associated computer) captures ahigh-resolution image 556. Next, the carriage returns (backward) to astart position 558. A generally high resolution image is saved to localinternal electronic storage location, the image being saved with adefault or generic serialized name 560. The image or file is transferred562 according to the function associated with the function button thatwas previously selected. Next, a user goes to a computer such as apersonal computer or computer electronically connected to the MFP 564. Auser is required to find the file on a local hard disc or other filelocation such as in a network shared folder associated with an accountof the MFP 566. The user next must determine if a particular file is theimage or set of images corresponding to the paper documents that sheplaced on the MFP initially 568.

When found, the user usually opens the images in an image editor 570—atleast to confirm that images of sufficient quality were captured. Often,the user optionally and manually crops images 572, manually deskews theimages 574, manually removes noise from the images 576, and manuallycorrects a gamma value associated with the images 578. The user mayclose the image editor 580. Next, a user must invent a filename for eachfile 582 such as based on its content, and save each file according toits invented filename in an electronic store 584. The user typicallyworks through the images sequentially until each image is saved. Whenfinished naming the files, a user may further manually process the savedimages such as by performing OCR on one or more of the images, sendingthe images via an email client, printing the images, and sharing theimages through a social networking website.

Accordingly, there is substantial opportunity to improve the highlymanual process of scanning paper documents and working with images ofsuch documents.

SUMMARY

Methods and devices are described for detecting boundaries of documentson flatbed and multi-function scanners on a first pass of a carriageassembly, and then performing a high resolution scan on a second pass.High resolution images of documents can then be obtained with little orno interaction normally necessary to identify areas of interest on thescanner bed. Patterns on the scanner cover or lid facilitate not onlyedge determination, but orientation of text and other objects, andstraightening of images in preparation for OCR and related functions.Certain functions such as functions related to OCR may be automated. Forexample, images and electronic files derived from paper documents may beautomatically cropped, deskewed, OCR'd and named consistent with contentor other information derived from paper documents.

Any of a variety of patterns may be useful when applied to a scannercover or lid. A pattern may be an image that includes one or morefragments or cyclically repeated designs or patterns. For example, apattern may be a regular grid formed with uniform lines, a set ofstripes running parallel with the scanner bed, two sets of parallellines, a set of unevenly spaced lines, and a series of dashes, dots orone or more other shape arranged in a variety of configurations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the appended claims set forth the features of the presentinvention with particularity, the invention, together with its objectsand advantages, will be more readily appreciated from the followingdetailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings. Throughout, like numerals refer to like parts with the firstdigit of each numeral generally referring to the figure which firstillustrates the particular part.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flatbed scanner according to the knownart.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a flatbed scanner according to oneimplementation of the invention for flatbed scanners.

FIG. 3 shows a diagram illustrating documents (e.g. checks, businesscards) lying on a bed of a flatbed scanner such as the one illustratedin FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows a variety of patterns for a lid, cover or background for ascanner in accordance with various embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 5A shows a flowchart of a method for scanning documents with aflatbed scanner in accordance with a conventional methodology.

FIG. 5B shows a flowchart of a method for scanning documents with amultifunctional device or multifunctional printer (MFP) in accordancewith a conventional methodology.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary implementation of a method for scanning adocument according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows a table illustrating differences between conventionalscanning techniques and scanning according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 8 shows exemplary hardware (computer) that may be associated with ascanner, hardware for implementing the disclosed procedures on anelectronic device, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Broadly, embodiments and techniques of the present invention disclose orrelate to methods for reducing time, resources and power associated withoperation of a scanner or multi-function printer (MFP) or other devicewith scanning/image-capture capability when capturing images from paperdocuments. Further, certain functions may become automated.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a scanner 200 according to one implementationof the invention for scanning one or more paper documents 102. Withreference to FIG. 2, a scanner 200 includes a scanning base 104, glassplate or bed 106 and cover or lid 108. This cover 108 includes abackground 202 that includes a pattern, texture or design instead of auniformly solid white or solid black background. In operation, the cover108 is preferably closed. The background 202 provides features for moreintelligently performing scanning operations.

FIG. 3 shows a diagram illustrating documents (e.g. checks, businesscards) lying on a bed of a flatbed scanner such as the one illustratedin FIG. 2. With reference to FIG. 3, there are 2 discreetrepresentations of documents 302, 304 that are on the bed 106. Also,there is a patterned background 306 behind and outside of any portion ofthe document(s) on the bed of the scanner. For illustration purposesonly, the document representations 302, 304 are shown as blank.Similarly, for purposes of illustration, the patterned background 306 isshown with a somewhat uniform pattern. However, as described in moredetail herein, such is not a requirement of the patterned background306. In practice, the documents represented as 302, 304 may be any paperor other type of physical document or object that is amenable to ascanner 200. The documents 302, 304 are shown askew on the bed 106 andillustrate that the invention operates on documents at an arbitraryalignment or orientation relative to the bed of the scanner. The scanner200 or associated computer (not shown in FIG. 3) may be programmed so asto identify a cropped region 308 around one document representation 302,both document representations 302, 304 or around the documentrepresentations 302, 304 individually even though the documentrepresentations 302, 304 may overlap each other along a vertical line.

In operation, the scanner 200 performs an initial scan across the bed106 such as at a low resolution. Such an initial scan can beaccomplished quickly. Immediately afterward, the scanner 200 can acquireor identify a cropped region 308. Then, instead of waiting for a furtherinteraction with a user, the scanner 200 or associated computer (i.e.,software or portion of the operating system active on the associatedcomputer) can immediately perform a high resolution or second scan ofthe image using information, pattern or data derived from the patternedbackground 306. The carriage of the scanner (not shown) is not evenrequired to return to an initial position. A single (round trip)pass—forward and backward—of the scanner 200 can yield high resolutionimages or images prepared for further processing without manual inputfrom a user. After the initial pass, and after identifying regions ofinterest, the scanner 200 can scan one or more areas such as the croppedregion 308 that likely includes one or more documents destined forcapture or scanning In post processing, a user or set of programinstructions can then crop and perform other actions on the highresolution image or images.

FIG. 4 shows a variety of patterns for a lid, cover or background for ascanner in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. Withreference to FIG. 4, according to one implementation, the pattern is animage that includes one or more fragments or cyclically repeated designsor patterns. For example, a pattern may be a regular grid 402 formedwith uniform lines running perpendicular to each other and orientedsquarely with a scanner bed (not shown in FIG. 4). In anotherimplementation, the pattern may be a set of finely printed dots 404.

In another implementation, the pattern is a set of lines forming aregular grid oriented at an arbitrary angle with respect to the scannerbed (406). In yet another exemplary implementation, the pattern isformed with two sets of parallel lines 408 where the lines of each setare parallel with each other, but are not spaced evenly. Further, eachset of lines is set at an arbitrary angle with respect to the other setof lines. In yet another implementation, the pattern may be a series ofdashes, dots, points, crosses, circles, angles and/or other shape(s) 410arranged according to one or more directions or generally along one ormore sets of lines or other shape. In another exemplary implementation,the pattern is formed by a random or semi-random set of shapes (e.g.,dots, dashes, squares, rectangles) arranged somewhat sparsely across thescanner lid 108. In yet another exemplary implementation, the patternincludes dashes, dots, points, crosses, circles, angles and/or othershape(s) arranged at a higher density toward a middle region (radiallyor linearly) of the scanning surface relative to an outer edge or regionof the scanning surface. In such implementation, program instructionscan determine a document position relative to the scanning surface.

In general, the pattern may be formed consistent with any checked paper,cross-hatched paper or lined paper. All the elements of a pattern can bein one color or different colors. The elements can be printed, appliedwith paint, applied to a scanner cover or lid with glue or in any otherway, or formed into the plastic, metal or other material of the scannercover or lid. The pattern may be part of a separate plate or sheet thatis placed on top of or behind the items to be scanned.

In contrast to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, FIG. 6 shows an exemplaryimplementation of a method for scanning a document according to anembodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, at step 602 a userfirst puts one or more papers or documents onto the bed of a scanner orMFP. The user then selects a functional button at step 604, for examplea “scan” button. The scanner makes a low resolution scan as its carriagemoves in a first or forward direction at step 606. The scanner orassociated computer (or combination of scanner and associated computer)automatically (programmatically) determines or defines an area ofinterest or document area at step 608. During capture of the lowresolution scan of the scanner bed, a fine detection of a document'sshape, size and coordinates may be performed using software orinstructions implemented in MFP, scanner and/or associated computer.Such processing may be performed during the step that is traditionallyassociated with preview scanning while the carriage of the MFP orscanner moves forward. Thus, to a user, there is little or no delaysince the MFP or scanner must mechanically perform steps associated withimage capture anyway.

As the carriage moves in a second, return or backward direction, thescanner captures or makes a high resolution scan at step 610. Next, skewangle, gamma and noise are automatically or programmatically determinedfor each document. All images corresponding to documents on the scannerare optionally and automatically cropped at step 614. Any existing skewis optionally and automatically adjusted at step 616. Noise from eachdocument image is optionally and automatically adjusted or removed atstep 618. Gamma corrections are optionally and automatically made foreach document at step 620. Moreover, all of these operations 614, 616,618, 620 can be performed for each document independently. For example,a first document can be processed with gamma 1.2 and noise removal. Atthe same time, a second document can be processed with gamma 1.05 andwith no noise removal.

In a preferred implementation, optical character recognition (OCR) isperformed on images that include text in the image at step 622. Thisstep is optional, but is a precursor to other functions. Based on one ormore characteristics of the images, each image or portion thereof isautomatically associated with a type at step 624. For example, adocument on the scanner may be determined to be a check based on, forexample, certain characteristics such as a check number in one cornerregion and a signature block near one edge region.

At step 626, a context-sensitive name for each image is automaticallygenerated. Such name may be derived from text recognized in the image.Each image is saved as one or more computer file automatically at step628. Subsequently, one or more other functions may be automaticallyperformed at step 630. For example, images from documents on the scannermay be sent over an email protocol to one or more email addresses. Asanother example, non-text-based images may be additionally saved in araw or uncompressed format, and text-based documents may be saved as PDFfiles. As a third example, a first document can be classified as text,recognized and saved as a PDF file with a text layer. At the same time,a second document can be classified as a color photo and saved asJPG-encoded file that has not been subjected to character recognition.One benefit of this method includes scanning of all documents on thescanner in a single pass of the carriage. A single pass is all that isneeded for each document.

FIG. 7 shows a table illustrating differences between conventionalscanning techniques and scanning according to an embodiment of theinvention. In the first column 702, a list of features is presented. Thesecond column 704 presents features associated with convention scanningof documents using a flatbed scanner. The third column 706 presentsfeatures associated with convention scanning of documents using amulti-functional scanner and printer (MFP). The fourth column 708presents features associated with scanning of documents according to oneimplementation of the invention.

Some differences with respect to scanning by flatbed scanners and MFP'sare now described. One difference is the number of passes of thecarriage needed to scan documents. Only one pass 710 is needed forscanning multiple documents when a background is provided behinddocuments. In comparison, the carriage must be activated by flatbedscanners and MFP's according to known techniques and without the use ofa background.

Another difference is that automatic cropping of all scanned documents712 may be performed. This is different from traditional methods ofscanning. In traditional cases, cropping does not execute at all or itmust be executed manually with an associated computer and separatesoftware or other programmatic element. According to the invention,cropping executes automatically and is facilitated by one or more of thefeatures of the background behind the document or documents on thescanner. Automatic cropping may be performed by the scanner. Oneimplementation of automatic cropping includes: identifying one or morefeatures of the background, detecting the edges of each document in theimage taken from the bed of the scanner, determining coordinatesassociated with the edges of each document and performing a croppingoperation such as by saving each reduced area associated with arespective document as an electronic image or file. Automatic croppingmay be performed with software, firmware or hardware instructionsimplemented in the MFP or scanner or through software, firmware orhardware instructions implemented on a computer associated with the MFPor scanner. Another difference is that automatic deskewing of allscanned documents 714 may be performed. This is different fromtraditional methods of scanning In traditional cases, automaticdeskewing cannot be performed at all or deskewing must be executedmanually. In the invention, deskewing executes automatically and isfacilitated by one or more of the features of the background behind thedocument or documents on the scanner. One implementation of automaticdeskewing includes: identifying one or more features of the background,detecting the edges of each document in the image taken from the bed ofthe scanner or determining a direction of elements in each document,determining a skew angle for each document, and performing a deskewingoperation such as by rotating each image for a respective documentaccording to the skew angle. A skew angle for a first document may bedifferent from a skew angle for a second document when both the firstdocument and second document are subjected to and present for a scan ona scanner because the first and second documents may independently beoriented on the scanner bed. Automatic deskewing may be performed withsoftware, firmware or hardware instructions implemented in the MFP orscanner or through software, firmware or hardware instructionsimplemented on a computer associated with the MFP or scanner.

Another difference is that automatic optical character recognition (OCR)of scanned documents 716 may be performed. This is different fromtraditional methods of scanning In traditional cases, automatic OCRcannot be performed at all or OCR must be executed manually or in aseparate stage subsequent to cropping or other operation. In theinvention, OCR may be executed automatically and is facilitated by oneor more of the features of the background behind the document ordocuments on the scanner. One implementation of automatic OCR includes:identifying one or more features of the background, detecting the edgesof each document in the image taken from the bed of the scanner ordetermining a direction of elements in each document, and performing anOCR operation for each document based on detected edges or direction ofelements in teach document. Automatic OCR may be performed withsoftware, firmware or hardware instructions implemented in the MFP orscanner or through software, firmware or hardware instructionsimplemented on a computer associated with the MFP or scanner.

Another difference is that automatic file naming may be performed 718.The name provided for the particular document preferably includes one ormore elements derived from the body or content of the particulardocument. This is different from traditional methods of scanning Intraditional cases, automatic OCR cannot be performed at all or OCR mustbe executed manually. OCR is one source of elements that may be used togenerate a name for the respective document or image. In the invention,automatic naming may be executed automatically and is facilitated by oneor more of the features of the background behind the document ordocuments on the scanner. One implementation of automatic namingincludes using text of features derived from performing OCR on therespective documents. Such implementation includes identifying one ormore features of the background, determining a direction of elements ineach document, performing an OCR operation for each document andgenerating a name for the respective documents based on the output ofthe OCR operation. Automatic naming may be performed with software,firmware or hardware instructions implemented in the MFP or scanner orthrough software, firmware or hardware instructions implemented on acomputer associated with the MFP or scanner.

Gamma correction, deskew and image cleaning are optional operations.These operations can be performed for each document individually. Intraditional cases, these operations usually are executed manually andcannot be automated. In one case, when an MFP is used, these operationscan be executed automatically but are limited to performing theseoperations for all documents taken together in a single image. In thedescribed invention, gamma correction, deskewing and image cleaning canexecute automatically and can be performed for each documentindividually. Such may be performed with software, firmware or hardwareinstructions implemented in the MFP or scanner or through software,firmware or hardware instructions implemented on a computer associatedwith the MFP or scanner.

OCR, document classification and automated file name generation areoptional operations. These operations can be performed for each documentindividually. In traditional, known methodologies, these operations mustbe executed manually. In the described invention, these operations arecapable of executing automatically. A scanner or MFP may perform any ofthese operations with software, firmware or hardware instructionsimplemented in the MFP or scanner and may be triggered with a functionalbutton selected at the start of an implementation of the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 8, an example of hardware 800 that may be used toimplement the techniques disclosed herein is shown, in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure. The hardware 800 typicallyincludes at least one processor 802 coupled to a memory 804. Theprocessor 802 may represent one or more processors (e.g.,microprocessors), and the memory 804 may represent random access memory(RAM) devices comprising a main storage of the hardware 800, as well asany supplemental levels of memory e.g., cache memories, non-volatile orback-up memories (e.g. programmable or flash memories), read-onlymemories, etc. In addition, the memory 804 may be considered to includememory storage physically located elsewhere in the hardware 800, e.g.any cache memory in the processor 802, as well as any storage capacityused as a virtual memory, e.g., as stored on a mass storage device 810.The hardware 800 also typically receives a number of inputs and outputsfor communicating information externally. For interface with a user oroperator, the hardware 800 may include one or more user input devices806 (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a scanner etc.) and a display 808 (e.g.,a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panel). For additional storage, thehardware 800 may also include one or more mass storage devices 810,e.g., a floppy or other removable disk drive, a hard disk drive, aDirect Access Storage Device (DASD), an optical drive (e.g. a CompactDisk (CD) drive, a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) drive, etc.) and/or atape drive, among others. Furthermore, the hardware 800 may include aninterface with one or more networks 812 (e.g., a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless network, and/or theInternet among others) to permit the communication of information withother computers coupled to the networks. It should be appreciated thatthe hardware 800 typically includes suitable analog and/or digitalinterfaces between the processor 802 and each of the components 804,806, 808 and 812 as is well known in the art.

The hardware 800 operates under the control of an operating system 814,and executes various computer software applications, components,programs, objects, modules, etc. indicated collectively by referencenumeral 816 to perform the techniques described above.

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of theinvention, may be implemented as part of an operating system or aspecific application, component, program, object, module or sequence ofinstructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programstypically comprise one or more instructions set at various times invarious memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when readand executed by one or more processors in a computer, cause the computerto perform operations necessary to execute elements involving thevarious aspects of the invention. Moreover, while the invention has beendescribed in the context of fully functioning computers and computersystems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the variousembodiments of the invention are capable of being distributed as aprogram product in a variety of forms, and that the invention appliesequally regardless of the particular type of machine orcomputer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.Examples of computer-readable media include but are not limited torecordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices,floppy and other removable disks, hard disk drives, optical disks (e.g.,Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks,(DVDs), etc.), among others.

Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific exemplary embodiments, it should be evident that the variousmodification and changes can be made to these embodiments withoutdeparting from the broader spirit of the invention. Further, one skilledin the art can practice the invention without the specific detailsprovided.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the invention. Appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodimentsmutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features aredescribed which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others.Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirementsfor some embodiments but not other embodiments. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative senserather than in a restrictive sense.

I claim:
 1. A method for scanning a document, the method comprising:positioning a first document and a second document onto a bed of ascanner and under a pattern adjacent the bed of the scanner, the patternbeing on top of the first document and the second document; generating afirst image of the first document, the second document, and at least aportion of the pattern from a first pass of an imaging component of thescanner across the bed of the scanner; identifying a first document areaand a second document area of the first image using the pattern;generating a second image of the first document area from a second passof the imaging component of the scanner across at least a portion of thebed of the scanner; and generating a third image of the second documentarea from the second pass of the imaging component.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first pass is a forward pass, and wherein thesecond pass is a backward pass.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising positioning a material with the pattern on the bed of thescanner and on top of the document.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe second image is at a higher resolution than the first image.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: cropping the first image byselecting one or more portions of the first image, wherein generatingthe second image from the second pass of the imaging component comprisesgenerating the second image using said cropping.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein identifying the first document area comprises cropping aportion of the first image.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinidentifying the first document area comprises determining a skew anglefrom the first image and applying a skew correction to the second imagebased on the skew angle.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstdocument comprises two areas of content, and wherein identifying thefirst document area comprises determining the two areas of content. 9.The method of claim 1, further comprising: performing optical characterrecognition on a portion of the second image.
 10. The method of claim 9,further comprising: extracting tags based on said optical characterrecognition of the second image; generating a file name based on theextracted tags; and saving the second image as an electronic file withthe generated file name.
 11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:defining a type associated with the first document using resultsobtained from the optical character recognition; forming a file nameusing the type; and saving an electronic file with the generated filename based on said second image.
 12. A system for scanning a documentcomprising: a data processing apparatus; and a machine-readable storagedevice operatively coupled to the data processing apparatus and havinginstructions stored thereon configured to be executed by the dataprocessing apparatus, wherein the data processing apparatus isconfigured to: position a first document and a second document onto abed of a scanner and under a pattern adjacent the bed of the scanner,wherein the pattern is on top of the first document and the seconddocument; generate a first image of the first document, the seconddocument, and at least a portion of the pattern from a first pass of animaging component of the scanner across the bed of the scanner; identifya first document area and a second document area of the first imagebased on the pattern; generate a second image of the first document areafrom a second pass of the imaging component of the scanner across atleast a portion of the bed of the scanner; and generate a third image ofthe second document area from the second pass of the imaging component.13. The system of claim 12, wherein the first pass is a forward pass,and wherein the second pass is a backward pass.
 14. The system of claim12, wherein the data processing apparatus is further configured toposition a material with the pattern on the bed of the scanner and ontop of the document.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein the secondimage is at a higher resolution than the first image.
 16. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the data processing apparatus is further configuredto: crop the first image into one or more portions, wherein the secondimage is generated from the second pass based on the one or moreportions.
 17. The system of claim 12, wherein the first document areacorresponds to a first cropped portion of the first image.
 18. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the data processing apparatus is furtherconfigured to determine a skew angle from the first image and apply askew correction to the second image based on the skew angle.
 19. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the first document comprises two areas ofcontent, and wherein the first document area comprises the two areas ofcontent.
 20. The system of claim 12, wherein the data processingapparatus is further configured to: perform optical characterrecognition on a portion of the second image.
 21. The system of claim20, wherein the data processing apparatus is further configured to:extract tags based on said optical character recognition of the secondimage; generate a file name based on the extracted tags; and save thesecond image as an electronic file with the generated file name.
 22. Thesystem of claim 20, wherein the data processing apparatus is furtherconfigured to: define a type associated with the first document based onresults obtained from the optical character recognition; form a filename based on the type; and save an electronic file with the file namebased on said second image.